Hoping to get around the “confusing and painful” journey that patients and carers have when trying to make sense of cancer information, the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) are teaming up to help build better understanding online under one digital umbrella.
Announced during the ASCO annual cancer conference in Chicago this month, the two organizations aim to “make it simpler for patients to find authoritative cancer information online,” according to a joint statement.
The aim is to create and share, for free, the “largest and most comprehensive” digital resource for what the pair say will be “credible cancer information,” via cancer.org.
“At ASCO, our members see every day how confusing and painful it can be for too many patients and families as they try to make sense of cancer information while they're navigating a diagnosis and treatment," said ASCO CEO Clifford A. Hudis, M.D.
According to the statement, this effort will help the organizations deliver clear and compelling cancer information to a wider audience of patients and their families at crucial moments when they need it.
As part of the collaboration, cancer.net, formerly run by ASCO, has been retired, and in favor of unity of information, all the new cancer info will be set up on cancer.org.
This also forms part of the Biden Cancer Moonshot, the White House-led initiative set up with the major goal to “end cancer as we know it.”
“The President and First Lady set two goals for the Biden Cancer Moonshot: to prevent more than 4 million cancer deaths by 2047, and to improve the experience of people who are touched by cancer,” said Danielle Carnival, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant to the President for the Cancer Moonshot, in a statement.
“The announcement today that ACS and ASCO are introducing an expanded cancer.org aligns with these goals. With this action, more patients, families, and caregivers across America—at all stages of the cancer journey—will have potentially life-saving information at their fingertips.”